The name was rarely given before the 20th century but has been "widely adopted throughout the English-speaking world" since,[3] surging in popularity during the 1950s. The sudden rise in popularity may be tied to
actor Kevin McCarthy, who first became famous with Death of a Salesman (1951)[according to whom?]. In the United States the name's popularity peaked at rank 11 in 1963. It has steadily decreased in popularity since then, but is still given with moderate frequency, at rank 89 as of 2016.[4]
The name followed a similar trajectory in the United Kingdom, gaining popularity in the 1950s, peaking in the 1960s, gradually declining in the 1970s to 1980s, and falling out of the top 100 most popularly given names by the 1990s.[5]

Oxford's A Dictionary of First Names suggests that anglicized Kevin may have influenced the adoption of Kelvin (in origin a river name) as a modern given name, which peaked in popularity at about the same time, albeit to a much lesser extent (peaking at rank 209 as of 1961 in the US).[6]

Conversely, in non-English-speaking Europe, the name picked up popularity in the 1980s.
The name had been introduced to Europe via pop culture, and was notorious for being extremely popular among lower class parents during the end of 1980s to 2000s.
The name peaked markedly in the early 1990s, reaching first rank in France during 1989–1994, during 1991–1992 in Switzerland and in 1991 in Germany. The 1991 peak in German-speaking Europe is due to the Christmas comedy film Home Alone, marketed as "Kevin – Allein zu Haus" in German (named for protagonist "Kevin McCallister", played by 10-year-old Macaulay Culkin).
Especially in Germany, the name became associated with low social status, an attitude popularised in German journalism based on a 2009 master thesis on primary teachers' reactions to children's given names.[7] "Kevin" or "Kevinismus" in German has become a short-hand for short-lived fads in given names based in pop culture.[8][9]

People

Before 1940

The name was comparatively rarely given in Anglophone countries prior to the 1940s and in the early 20th century remained associated with Irish heritage.